When is it really a clinical issue?

As instructors, it is our job to always be aware of who are clients are, and how to best support their healthy lifestyle. With this in mind, I was just thinking about the relatively new phenomenon, ?exercise bulimia?. In a time when we are hearing on the news that Americans don?t exercise enough, it seems odd to hear about someone who exercises too much?because, after all, we?re touting exercise as the ?cure-all? and ?preventative? medicine, right? Thus, how can exercising a lot be too much? I wanted to figure out what the distinction might be for healthy working out ?a lot? versus disordered working out ?a lot?. It seems to be related to the amount of distress and disorder it might cause in your daily life. In other words, exercise is considered compulsive when individuals miss work, parties or appointments in order to work out. They might work out while they are sick, or even if they are injured. Additionally, these compulsive behaviors, if not satisfied, might lead to the individual becoming severely depressed when they cannot get a workout in. A diagnosis might also be due to the fact that these before mentioned symptoms, along with behaviors such as working out for hours at a time each day or not taking rest/ recovery days, are part of the behavioral pattern. I?ll admit that at one point in my life, this might have categorically been me?as I have gotten older, though, it?s just not possible to do?work life is integral to my being issued a paycheck to join a gym (ha ha), and as I?ve gotten older, an understanding that I?m not omnipotent, and therefore need recovery days, has become a reality. But, I wanted to share a bit on this as we might, as instructors see this amongst our clients and perhaps our peers?not sure if anyone has anything to add on the matter, but if you want to share on experiences, it?d help for our community to stay informed. -June